CT Green Scene

Ticking Off the Ice Cream Truck Man

I was at the park today with my kids when a diesel ice cream truck pulled in. The man, in his fifties, kept the fifteen year old truck spewing smoke as he passed out frozen treats packed with artificial colors and flavors and enough preservatives to outlive the kids who ate them.

I stood by silently, my  young ones knowing better than to ask, since for the past four years their mommy claims not to have any money, or rambles on about how unhealthy that ice cream is, convincing them to go to the New Morning to pick up some organic, lactose-free, all natural, frozen desserts.

Then it hit me: this must have been what the first proponents of banning second hand smoke must have felt like. Unsure, insecure, timid. I marched up to the truck and asked if he'd be staying long. "Nope."
"Good, I replied, because we can smell your truck all the way across the park."  "If you're so worried about it, why didn't you walk instead of drive here?" he spat back.

Tonight, I'll dream of electric powered ice cream trucks that sell organic, healthy frozen treats on sultry summer days.

Art Supplies and their Toxins: Not a Pretty Picture

By Patricia Gilbanks

I never got over the thrill of school and art supplies. I can spend hours browsing stationery, craft stores and arts supplies stores. For clothes, I’m in and out. But give me paints and glue and paper to look at and I’m happy to stay a good long while.

Only problem is the chemicals that go into art supplies are highly toxic (inflaming allergies, causing organ damage and carcinogenic to boot) and—to speak truth to power—the regulation of these products is suspect.

To find out more, I first talked with a young artist I know, Ashley Cordes, who does wonderful portraits of pets. She has an uncanny ability to grasp their soul and spirit in their eyes. Ashley grew up in Bethel, Connecticut and you can view her work at www.ashleycordes.com. Don’t miss it!

Bottled Water Debate Is Nothing New, but Drugs in our Tap Water?

There's no two ways about it: bottled water is B-A-D for the environment and E Magazine (below), for one, agrees. But what to do when reports like the one that was released last week by AP show that our tap water is ladened with, "A vast array of pharmaceuticals — including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones — have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans, an Associated Press investigation shows?"

So let me get this straight. We have drugs, pesticides, herbicides, petroleum, storm water run off and other pollutants tainting the water that flows from the tap, yet bottled water wreaks havoc on Mother Earth and leeches plastic from the bottles. It's no wonder, as Lester Brown pointed out last year, we've fallen subject to one of the greatest con jobs of all time: believing that bottled water is safe.

Organic Vodka, straight up, anyone?

 

Chemicals in Scented Candles

EARTH TALK
From the Editors of E/The Environmental Magazine

Dear EarthTalk: I just read an article that said air fresheners contain chemicals that can cause health problems when inhaled. Are scented candles any better?

        -- Leanne Chacksfield, Cincinnati, OH

Like most air fresheners, many scented candles contain and release phthalates, potentially harmful chemicals that have been linked to the disruption of hormonal systems and other health problems in people exposed to them. Burning candles can also emit small amounts of acetaldehyde, formaldehyde and naphthalene, organic chemicals that are also potentially harmful and that can leave nasty black soot deposits on floors and other surfaces.

According to Pamela Lundquist of the nonprofit Children’s Health Environmental Coalition (CHEC), this black soot deposit “is primarily made up of elemental carbon, but may also contain phthalates and volatile organic compounds like benzene and toluene, which can cause cancer and neurological damage.”